Centre cuts blood test waits from weeks to hours

People who need a routine blood test at their GP surgery are being offered a chance to get them more quickly at a centre in Hull.

The Community Diagnostic Centre on Albion Street is working with a growing number of GP practices to offer the tests, Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said.

It follows a two-week pilot project alongside four surgeries which saw phlebotomy staff in the CDC take patients' bloods instead of the practices' own teams.

The trust said the arrangement was "a success", with some patients who may have had to wait more than two weeks for results getting them within 24 hours at the CDC.

The offer to take patients' bloods on behalf of GP practice teams has been extended to 18 surgeries.

They include Burnbrae Surgery on Holderness Road, and practices in Newsington, Kingswood and Orchard Park which are all run by the Haxby Group.

General manager Karen Phillips said: "Demands on general practice are always high, including requests for blood tests as these are usually the first and most common step in helping to either identify health problems or rule them out.

"Having to wait for tests, or to wait to find out everything is OK, can be incredibly stressful for some patients."

Having a test at the CDC is optional, and patients can, if they wish, choose to wait to be tested at their surgery.

Senior sister in phlebotomy Catherine Hellewell said: "We know patients can get anxious waiting for tests so we're pleased to be able to offer a helping hand to local practices who are all under a lot of pressure, and to help improve the overall experience for patients."

The trust said more than 600 patients had taken up their GP's offer of blood tests at the CDC in the last 12 weeks, "meaning any potential diagnosis and treatment would move along more quickly or they could otherwise have their minds put at rest".

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